What Can A Kilt Maker Teach Insurance Agents about Social Media Engagement?

This Kilt Maker’s social media engagement has everything to do with insurance prospecting.

Social media engagement was an afterthought for Kristi Karren, of Kristi Karren Highland Sewing, when she posted a short informational video to her Facebook page. But that one little video generated tremendous social media engagement for her business.

“People ask me all the time if a kilt can be altered to fit a growing body,” said Kristi. “So I decided to show ‘Dance Moms’ how to tell if a kilt can or cannot be altered.”

This Kilt Maker’s mobile-friendly video went around in the world in just hours.

Within hours of posting hervideo, Kristi noticed her video engagement going through the roof. First she hit 500 views, then 1,000 views, and then surpassed 3,000 views in the first 48 hours. People around the world liked her video, commented, and tagged their friends (which essentially notifies friends to “watch this video now!”). Viewers shared Kristi’s video 30 times. Prospective clients in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa contacted her about new work.

“I didn’t expect that so many people would find this helpful,” said Kristi.

The Rules of Video Engagement

Authenticity — Kristi appears as herself. There are no hair-and-makeup professionals hiding off camera. She’s genuine and real (as is her kilt model) and you can tell that she is a highly-knowledgeable kilt maker, and a very nice person. She creates instant trust. And who do we like doing business with? People we know, trust and like.

Spontaneity — Kristi isn’t reading from a teleprompter, she’s speaking from her own know-how. She’s standing in a backyard, not a film studio. She filmed the video in one take on an iPhone. She’s sharing knowledge that her customers commonly want to know, and doing so with grace and an authentic easiness (see “Authenticity” above).

Why Social Media Engagement Matters to an Insurance Agent

Your ability to attract new prospects depends now on how well you can engage people via social media. You can’t cold call anymore. Customers aren’t looking you up in the phone book. SEO is good, but you (passively) have to wait for people to search for you — and good luck beating out “Flo” or the green lizard. They own the best spots on the first-page of Google search results.

Instead, you need to be all about the new currency: social media engagement. And as Kristi shows us, video engagement is the most valuable of all.